dh wants to move to n. carolina

[irmanator]

We were just discussing and he thinks we should when the kids are done with school in 4 years. I might want to but am cautious. All the research I can find is biased or hard to search thru. I need to know a good site to look for houses preferably small town and what is the jobs and lifestyle like. I plan on visiting before doing anything crazy but the winters in upstate NY are awefull. Any advice or opinions would be appreciated. thanks

[poundwise]

Raleigh, NC - Recognition by Awards

There are many smaller communities around the greater Raleigh and Triangle area.

[umarider]

You really need to research the different areas of NC. Raliegh-Durham is very different from Coastal Carolina.

My ILs retired to coastal Carolina, which would have been great if 1. they liked golf ( hate it), 2. liked hot weather (hate it), 3. liked to boat (another nope).

I think they were sold a bill of goods by a developer and made to see themselves enjoying an easy life of possibilities. Truth is, they live in a very nice house, but must drive 30min to get to stores/church, etc., and have struggled to find their niche.

Meanwhile, other family members retired to Wilmington, NC, live near the University, are a short drive from stores, etc, and love where they live!

Know what you like, and research, research, research!

[snafu]

DH wanted to move to the coastal city where most of his family now lives. To help with the decision making process, we rented an apartment with a month-to-month lease. We brought our camping gear as we didn't want to buy furniture or supplies and a relative loaned us a futon.

After one month of living like the locals, we realized we didn't want to live in that city. Everything was a hassle [getting groceries, parking the car, making a left turn, taking a class, using the library, etc. ]

The relatives thought it was their duty to organize our day, join them for picnics [in the rain] bring specific casseroles and nearly drove DH [who resists manipulation] c-r-a-z-y! It cost us our entire annual vacation but that was less painful than making a move we would have regretted.

[KatieNK]

Ooh, I'll go with him LOL! I have been trying to convince DH to move to the Raliegh area. But he has an awesome job so we can't leave. Anyway, here are some good sites for you:

Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, Cary Forum - The Triangle Area - City-Data Forum

WakeGOV.com - Tax Rates & Fees

[gamecock43]

I agree Raliegh is my favorite area of N.C. I lived in Kannapolis (Charlotte suburb) and Charlotte for a summer 2 yrs ago and Charlotte is Beautiful...but they are having job problems now in the present economy. I also lived in Winston-Salem and was not so impressed. Economy revolves around the university in the town and a lot of the city is a bit run down. Though its very historic- Old Salem is a town left over from the 1800's complete with people dressed up and everything. There's a prep-school in old Salem too- kind of neat to go to class in a building built in the 1700's.

[Cylenchar]

I agree with what some of the people above have said: take a couple weeks and go visit the area. talk to the people at restaurants, hotels, ect and get their opinion on the area. Where do you currently live? What are your interests? What do you absolutely need to be happy? What's a deal killer? Make a few lists so you know what to look for when you go down there.

[irmanator]

thanks for the good info, keep it coming. I definatly want to move out of NY been here my whole life but I am used to it and want to be definatly sure as I can about where i want to be so that I wont regret it too much.

[GrimJack]

I followed DW to Raleigh for one of her post-docs; that area is quite good. I worked in Cary which was not a bad commute. That area has what is known as Research Triangle Park which is Raleigh, Durham and wherever UC is. It is an exciting area but be prepared to live from AC to AC during the summer (it is hot and muggy). Hurricanes can and do make it that far inland (we were there Fran made it to Raleigh - fortunately we were just uphill from the largest shopping mall in Raleigh so we had power back within 3 hours whereas other areas did not get power for days). While we were there, the competition for labor was so strong that Mickey-D had to pay over $10/hr to keep high school kids - one friend who ran a coffee shop had a 50% turnover per week. I am sure that since the .com bubble burst, the job market has slowed down. Google for Research Triangle Park to check out the job market in the Raleigh/Durham/whatever area.